Shock absorber for automobiles



July 1, 1924?.`

fs. s. SEGURA SHOCK ABSORBER FOR UTOMOBILES original Filed March 25,1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y g'nvantoz .52' 012755/ E. Segal-'5 July 1 i924.

s. B. SEGURA SHOCK ABSORBBR FOR AUTOMOBILES Original Filed March 25 2Sheets-Shui 2 atb: nu,

Patented July l, i924.

NET Si SIDNEY B. SEGURA, HOUSTON, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR TO CROW'N SHOCKABSORBER COMPANY, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, .A CORPORATEON OF TEXAS. Y

SHOCK ABSORBER FOB; AUTOMOBILES.

Continuation of application Serial No. 5126,76@ filed March 25, i922.This application filed November 22,

T0 all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, SIDNEY B. SEGURA, a citizen of the United States,residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Shock Absorbers forJAutomobiles, of which the following is a speciiication, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a device of thiskind, by which the shocks due to the rebound movements of the automobilemay be absorbed, as well as the shocks resulting from the downwardmovements of the body.

Heretofore, the shocks resulting from the rebound movements, have beenabsorbed by cushions above a member of the body, and the shocks createdby the bod7 on its downward movements have been absorbed by cushionsbelow said member.

However another purpose is to reverse the order of this arrangement,thatris to say, to absorb the shocks incident to the downward movementsof the body, by cushions disposed above an oscillatory member, and toabsorb the shocks incident to the rebound movements of the body, bycushions arranged below said oscillatory member. It has been found thatthis order of arrangement absorbs the shocks more uniformly, enablingthe occupants of the vehicle to ride with greater comfort and ease thanhas been accomplished before.

A further purpose is to provide an oscillatory lever or member, one endthereof being connected to the usual leaf spring of the body, and theother end operatively mounted between upper and lower cushions wherebythe shocks, resultingA from the downward movements of the body, areabsorbed by the cushions above, and those resulting from t-he reboundmovementsv of the body, are absorbed by the cushions below.

A' still further purpose is the provision of an improved means formounting said cushions and the oscillatory lever or member, wherebythese results may be accomplished more effectively and ata relativelylow cost.

Also it is the aim to provide shock ab` sorbers applicable to theforward and rear springs. and axles (preferably of a Ford automobile).without making any material Serial No. 602,574.

alterations inthe construction of the automobile.

It is to be understood that the particulars herein given are in no waylimitative `and that while still keeping within the scope of theinvention, any desired modifications of detail and desired proportionsmay be made in the apparatus according to circumstances.

The invention Ycomprises further features and combination of parts, aswill be hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings and claimed.

In the drawings Figure l is a rear view of an automobile showing therear shock absorbers mounted in position, showing one ofv them insection;

Figure 2 is a view in front elevationv of an automobile, showing theforward shock absorbers, there being a portion of the forward axle insection, showing how the hanger for the lower cushion'is reinforcedrelatively tothe axle;V l Figure 3 isa, vertical sectional view on line3-3 of Figure 1,showing the construcf ltion ofthe shock absorber atright angles to that shown in the preceding figures;

Figure l is an enlarged detail perspective view of the rearv hanger;Figure 5 is a detailview ofthe U-shaped saddle which straddles the upperand lower cushions and has the lower'ends of its arms operativelyconnectedto they axle.

Figure 6 is adetail perspective view of one of the spring abutments.

Referring tothe ,drawingsl and 2 desig nate the forward andrear axles ofthe automobile, and 3 and 4; denote the forward and rear springsthereof, while l5l and 6 designate the forward and rear hangers of theshock absorbers. Each hanger rises from the axle, and near its lowerportion is provided with a lateral plate 7 which carries a cup 8. Thelower portion of each hanger is provided with a Ushaped crotch 9,whichstraddlesthe axle, there being a bolt 10 passing throughV theextremities of the arms or side walls of the crotch and engaging below.the axle, to securely anchor `the hanger ina perpendicular position on.

the axle. It is, to be noted that the hanger, the plate, and the cup areall constructed, in a one-piece casting, soas toV insure rigidityand:strengtlr he'gouterl end of the'vplate 7 of eachy rear hwger isconnected at ll to the rear axle brake housing, which is adjacent .therear hub brake drum.

The construction of each forward hanger is modified, to the extent ofarranging the bolts a adjacent the outer end of the plate 7 of thehanger, instead of at the inner end. Furthermore the inner end of eachforward hanger has an extension or lug 12, which enters an opening inthe forward axle, and receives a nut on its lower end, which nut bearsagainst the under face of the axle, and by this construction the forwardhanger is held in place and prevented from moving inwardly.

rlhe upper end of each hanger is bifurcated, and arranged between thearms 13 caused to be formed by the bifurcation 14 and fulcrumed upon apin 15 is a lever 16. rlhe inner end of the lever 16 is downwardlyturned as shown at 17 and is connected to a link 18, which in turn isfastened at 19 to a leaf spring 2O of the automobile rllhe outer end ofthe lever 16 terminates in a head 21, which extends at right angles tothe lever 16, in a direction above and below the lever. The upper andlower ends of the head operatively engage sockets 22 and 23 of thereversely disposed cups 24 and 25. Arranged above the cup 24 is anadditional cup 26, the upper face of which is provided with a recess 27.The cups 8, 24, 25 and 26 are spaced and are arranged in axial alignmentand cooperating between the cups 8 and 25, and between the cups 24 and26 are coil springs 28 and 29. These springs 28 and 29 are undercompression, therefore the tendency of each spring is to expand.

Straddling the cups is a saddle 30, so that the upper transverse portion31 of the saddle will engage the groove or recess 27 in the upper faceof the cup. ln other words the transverse portion 31 of the saddle iscountersunk in the cup, so that the upper face of the transverse portionis flush with the upper face of the cup, there being a suitable bolt 32passing through the transverse portion and into the cup, to secure thesaddle and the cup 26 together. The arms of the saddle extend downwardlyon opposite sides of the various axially aligned cups 8, 24, 25 and 26,so that their lower ends will protrude below the under face of the axle.The extremities 33 of the arms of the saddle receive bolts 34, whichpass under the axle, thereby securely fastening the saddle in position.

The sockets 22 and 23 are of sufcient size to permit the head 21 to movefreely therein, so as to compensate for the oscillatory movement of thelever' 16. 1t is well understood that when the wheels of the vehiclecome in contact with a gully or depression in the roadway the body ofthe vehicle moves downwardly very sudden, creating shock. rlherefore theshock incident to the downward movement of the body has been absorbed bycushions or springs under a member carried by the body. ln the presentinstance, it will be noted that the cushion or spring for absorbing ashock 1ncident to the downward movement of the body is located above thelever 16, therefore, when the body moves downwardly, the lever 16 isoscillated, causing the head 21 to move upwardly additionallycompressing the spring 29, and allowing the spring 28 to expand. lnshock absorbers heretofore produced, the shock incident to the. reboundmovement of the body has been absorbed by means above a menibeixcarriedby the body. However, in the present case the cushion or spring forabsorbing the shock incident to the rebound movement of the body islocated below the lever 16. therefore, well understood that when thebody in the present case makes its rebound movement, the head 21 of thelever 16 moves downwardly, compressing the spring 28,

and allowing` the spring 27 to expand, *f

thereby absorbing the shock, as a result of the rebound movement of thebody.

lt will be noted that due to the links 18 the body of the vehicle ispermitted to have lateral play relatively to the hangers 6, for it isclear that if it were not for the links 18, considerable lateral strainwould be imparted upon the hangers 6, as a result of any movement of thebody in a horizontal or lateral direction.

This application is iled in continuation of the application of Paul A.Leckrone and Sidney B. Segura, filed March 25, 1922, Serial No. 546,764.

The invention having been set forth, what is claimed is 1. In a shockabsorber, an axle, a hanger mounted thereon, superimposed cushionssupported on said hanger, a vehicle body supporting spring, a membermounted upon the hanger for oscillatory movements having one endconnected to the vehicle body supporting spring and its other endoperatively engaging with and between said cushions, and meansstraddling the cushions and connected to the axle, thereby holding thecushions in place and slightly under compression, said means comprisinga. U- shaped saddle, the arms of which engage on opposite sides of thecushions and have their lower extremities extending beyond the lowerface of the axle, to receive said securing means.

2. In a shock absorber, an axle, a hanger mounted thereon, superimposedcushions supported on said hanger, a vehicle body supporting spring, amember mounted upon the hanger for oscillatory movements having one endconnected to the vehicle body supporting spring and its other endoperatively engaging with and between said cushions, and meansstraddling the cushions and connected to the axle, thereby holding thecushions in place and slightly under compression, said means comprisinga U- shaped saddle, the arms of which engage on opposite sides of thecushions and have their lower extremities extending beyond the lowerface of the axle, to receive said securing means, the upper cushionincluding a cup for holding the cushioning member i proper of the uppercushions in place, said cup having a recess or groove for the receptionof the -upper transverse part of the saddle, and means for securing thetransverse part of the saddle in said groove.

3. In a'shock absorber, an axle having a hanger supported thereon, apair of cushions supported upon the hanger, said cushions eachcomprising axially aligned cups, springs operatively engaging in andbetween said cups, a vehicle body supporting spring. means operativelymounted upon said hanger for oscillatory movements and con- Y nected tosaid vehicle body supporting spring, and in turn operatively and looselyconnected with the outer faces of the adja-` cent cups of both cushions,and means for holding the cups in axial alignment.

y 4. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the leaf spring and axle,or a supporting post on said axle, a hanger on said axle outside saidpost, a lever pivoted on said post and flexibly connected at one end tosaid leaf spring, aA head on the outer end of said lever within saidhanger, cups above and below said head, and compression springs in saidhanger between said cups and the opposite ends of said hanger.

5. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the leafspring and axle, ofa supporting post on said axle, a lever pivoted on said post, the innerend of which is secured to said leaf spring, a hanger on said axleoutside said post, a head on the outer end of said lever, cups 'at theupper and lower ends of said hanger, bearing'cups above and below saidhead, and coiled springs between said bearing cups and said first-namedcups for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature. v

sinNEY B. SEGURA.

